Younity and the Community Energy world
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Published 14 Apr 2022 in Trading Groups
Today’s story is all about the partnership we have with our brand Younity and how they are vital to the Community Energy movement in the UK. Read the exclusive update from the team, covering what’s been happening and how they are tackling the Energy market challenges.
What’s the latest on Younity? (our joint venture between Midcounties & Octopus Energy)
Younity are committed to supporting the Community Energy movement! Community-scale renewable energy has massive potential to help achieve climate change targets in the UK and keep energy local. This is becoming a very hot topic. Not just in the energy world but in the wider public arena.
You might ask, what is Community Energy? Simply, it is power produced at a local level by communities themselves. Local people come together to finance the installation of a sustainable energy generator, such as a wind farm or solar panels, to power their communities.
Community Energy Projects come in all shapes and sizes, but they usually have a couple of things in common. First and foremost, community energy is about ownership - the energy project is owned by members of the community. In other words, community members set up, finance, and own a stake in a green energy generation project - say, a wind turbine, or solar panels on the roof of a local building. The money that’s then made goes towards paying community members back - with the profits reinvested in the community and/or more community energy projects!
How are Younity involved?
Younity exist to support this vitally important Community Energy movement in the UK. On a practical level by paying a fair price for the renewable energy generated by over 70% of active Community Energy Groups. But also working with groups in a whole host of other ways to support with challenges they may face.
So, what are these challenges?
- Financing of projects can be difficult for many reasons, not least because banks may not be interested in smaller community energy projects – Younity will be announcing a solution for this ongoing problem very soon. Watch this space…
- Community Energy Groups achieving a fair price for their renewable energy with ethical solution to the market…Younity are there to ensure that all renewable energy is ‘fed’ into Your Co-op Community Power Tariff – the only 100% renewable energy tariff on the market for consumers!
- Attracting investors within the Community. Younity and Your Co-op Energy have recently launched PowerShare - read more here. This is where anyone can invest as little as £5 in renewable energy, we provide the platform and together, we create a greener, fairer world. Join the revolution!
- There is an age diversity issue in Community Energy Groups – this is something that we are helping to address with our future Youth engagement strategy (which we will share really soon). For immediate support, we are giving the opportunity to 5 Octopus Energy apprentices to work for free one day per week with Community Energy groups across the UK.
- One-off community projects and funding. For every community energy power tariff sign up – Younity pay £10 into a Powering Communities fund – so far an amazing £30k of monies has been paid out to Community Energy groups since its inception.
What’s next?
Well, we are eagerly awaiting the Government’s update on the UK’s Energy transition bill and how they will address the need for renewables and bringing energy sources closer to home. Not least how to benefit local communities and alleviate the effects of fuel poverty. In the Community Energy world, you can really see that Younity are addressing the real problems in the UK that Community Energy groups experience. We know we can’t rest on our laurels so are conducting a survey in the coming weeks to find out more about the challenges they will be facing.
Join the revolution! From the Younity Team
The PowerShare launch